Introduction: This Joseph Gregor Family Genealogy represents research begun in 1980 when the only information I had was some information I had about my grandfather, Adolph Joseph Dewald and grandmother, Florence (Prentice) Dewald. From a note on the back of Adolph's portrait, I learned he was born in Waterville, MN, and that led me to identify his parents as Martin Dewald and Amelia Gregor, #7 below. Amelia Gregor was a daughter of Joseph Gregor, #6 below, my great-great-grandfather, after whom this material is titled.

By means of correspondence with relatives in Waterville, research in the IGI, and a personal trip in 1985 to what was once called Michelsdorf in Bohemia, now known as Ostrov in the Czech Republic.

The "Ostrov" name occurred while the area was under Rusia's control. It lies about 10-12 km east of Lanskroun on Highway 313, just past the junction of 315 and 313. Ostrov is about 40 miles or so due east of Prague. When Czechoslovakia was split some years ago into the Czech Repuplic and Slovakia, Ostrov now lies in the area known as the Czech Republic.

At one time, Michelsdorf had a large German population, but after the end of WW II in 1944, that population was removed from the area. At the time of Linus Joseph Dewald Jr's. visit in 1985, at was a small town of about 600 people with few, if any, German-speaking residents.

If anyone has additional biographical information about the folks shown below, or about their descendants, please send your information to us at the Prentice Newsletter. Be sure to give the full title and date of this article in the Subject line of the email.

FIRST GENERATION

1. Jiri Gregor1 was born c. 1630, in Michelsdorf, Bohemia and probably died in the latter part of the 1600s in that same area. The name, Gregor, is a common one in Waterville, MN where a number of families named GREGOR immigrated in the middle 1800's from Michelsdorf, Bohemia. One might infer that it was also a common name in the Michelsdorf area.

The name of Jiri's wife is presently Unknown. It might be assumed that they had several children, but at the present time the name of only 1 son is known:

2 i. Jan Gregor2, b. c. 1665, Michelsdorf, Bohemia.

SECOND GENERATION

2. Jan Gregor (Jiri, 1). He was b. c. 1665, in Michelsdorf, Bohemia1, and died at some date after 1698 when his last known child was born. His occupation was that of a Farmer.

He married, first, Anna Vavra on 23 Jan 1677/8(2). Anna was b. c. 1665, in Cermna, Bohemia, and probably d. sometime between 1688 and 1692 in Michelsdorf. She was the daughter of Matej Vavra and his presently unknown wife. Jan and Anna had 4 known children:

He married, second, Alzbeta (Elizabeth) Kristek, on 17 Jan 1733/4, in Michelsdorf, Bohemia14. She was b. 19 Apr 1711, in Michelsdorf, Bohemia 1 and was the daughter of
Vavrinec Kristek and Magdalena Resler. Children of Jan and Alzbeta:

He married, first, Alzbeta (Elizabeth) Stangler, daughter of Jan
Stangler and Marie Schneider, 22 Nov 177223. Born, 17 Apr 1750, in
Michelsdorf, Bohemia1. Died, before 178924. Elizabeth may have died in
childbirth. Her last known child, Alzbeta/Elizabeth, was born 5 Jul 1787.
The first child by her husband's second wife, Anna Janis, was born 24 Sep
1789. Children:

The name "Gregor" is a common one in Waterville, MN where a number
of families named GREGOR immigrated in the middle 1800's from Michelsdorf,
Bohemia. The area is now Czechoslovakia and Michelsdorf, now known by the
name Ostrov, is some 40 miles or so due east of Prague. It seems likely he
is related to the other Gregors.

Information provided by Wolfgang Morascher, a descendant living in
Vienna, indicates that Joseph's children were born in Michelsdorf up until
his son, Frank, was born in Vienna in 1860. That would indicated Joseph
moved to Vienna shortly before 1860.

We don't know when Joseph came to America, but it was after the
birth of his last child, his son Emil born in 1867 in Vienna, Austria and
prior to his 8 Dec 1883 official declaration of his intention to become a
citizen. A Centennial History of the Sacred Heart Church of Hebron, NE
reelates, at page 13, that "the Gregors first settled in Nebraska near
Powell and Gladstone (about 20 miles east of Hebron); however, a 1992
review by Sister Eva Fritz of church records at Powell and Gladstone did
not reveal any information about the family. The Centennial History
relates that they attended church at Fairbury (about 15 miles east of
Hebron). A review of Fairbury church records is needed to determine if it
contains any information about them.

In the late 1880's and 1890's they all migrated to near Hebron and
joined Sacred Heart Parish"

Joseph received his citizenship about 18 Sep 1890, the year before
he died at the age of 77. Curiously, there seems to be no newspaper
obituary.

Rose died some time after the birth of her son, Vincent in 1850 and
before 1858; Joseph's daughter by his next marriage was born in 1859.
Rose's death left Joseph with two young children, the oldest of whom could
not have been more than 10 years old. Children:

Where was she born and where did she marry? Probably in or near
Michelsdorf where her daughter, Theresa, was born in 1859.

When Henna married Joseph Gregor, she took on the responsibility of
rearing two young children, Amelia and Vincent. Henna and Joseph had a
child of their own and it may be that Henna died in childbirth at, or not
long after, the birth of their daughter on 21 Feb. 1859. We know Joseph's
next child by his third wife was born 21 July 1860. That would allow
roughly 6 months for mourning, marriage by August, and the prompt
pregnancy of his third wife shortly thereafter. Children:

Victoria was 23 when she married Joseph in about 1859 and undertook
the care of the three young children of Joseph and her deceased sister,
Hannah. They were 11 year old Amelia, 9 year old Vincent, and baby
Theresa. Victoria and Joseph then proceeded to have three more children of
their own over the next 8 years. Victoria immigrated to America, probably
with her husband Joseph and their children. When? Some time after the 1867
birth of her youngest son, Emil, and before Joseph's declaration in 1883
of his intention to become a citizen. No immigration documents for her
have been located at Hebron, and officials there related that
naturalization of her husband, Joseph, would result in her automatic
naturalization.

Victoria's obituary says Victoria died at the home of her
daughter, Maria (Mrs. Joseph Burbach); that for many years she had made
her home with her children, mostly with her daughter; and that her death
came quite suddenly, being stricken only the day before. According to her
Certificate of Death, she died from a cerebral hemmorrhage. Children:

Amelia is believed to the eldest child of Joseph Gregor by his first
wife, Rose Hiller. Her obituary says she was born in Michelsdorf; her
Death Certificate says Austria, but Michelsdorf in 1848 was a part of the
Austro?Hungarian Empire. Amelia's obituary reads as follows:

"She is gone; but ah??not departed. For her memory lives on as the
light of the sun that is softly reflected in the moon on a calm,
mellow night. Amelia Mary Gregor...died...at the age of 87 years, 6
months, and ten days.

At the age of 20 (c. 1868), she came with friends to America. A
passenger roster shows she arrived at the Port of New York on 6 June
1868 aboard the sailing vessel, "Weser." She lived for a time in
Wisconsin, later going to Waterville, Minnesota, where she worked
for three years, perhaps as a maid or housekeeper.

In 1871 she was united in marriage to Martin Dewald. Martin and
Amelia lived on a farm for a number of years, with their three sons
and two daughters. On October 18, 1880, they settled on a farm
northwest of Hebron. After the death of her husband in 1896, she
moved to town, where she has since made her home...The funeral was
held at Sacred Heart church on Monday morning, June 11 (1934) at
8:30 o'clock. Rev. Father Broermann officiated and delivered a very
touching sermon..."

A granddaughter of Amelia remembers visits to Amelia's home in her later
years: Amelia was described as a non-smiling, no-nonsense person; she and
her son (Adolph) spoke always in German when she went with her father to
visit his mother, Amelia.

Martin was about 15 when his family immigrated and settled at St. John,
IN. In the Spring of 1855, when he was 27, he moved to Waterville, MN with
his father, brothers, and possibly his mother. 3 years later, in 1858, he
married his 1st wife, Barbara Dusbabek, who bore him 2 sons (Paul and
John) and a daughter (Amelia). After Barbara's death, and at 43, Martin
married Amelia Gregor and had another son and daughter.

About 1882, at the age of 52, Martin and his family moved to Thayer Co.,
NE. Deeds dated February and April, 1882 described his farm as shaped like
a dog leg to the left: the NE quarter of Sec. 13, the N half of the NW
quarter of Sec. 13, and the SW quarter of Sec. 12 immediately above Sec.
13.

Martin became a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church. He died in Hebron
at the age of 68. Children:

i. Christina8 Dewald. Born, 23 Jun 1872, in Waterville,
Waseca, MN. Died, 29 Mar 1958, in NE. Occupation: Nurse.
Died unmarried without children.
13 ii. Adolph Joseph Dewald.
8. Vincent/Vinzenz7 Gregor (Joseph, 6). Born, 2 Mar 1850, in
Michelsdorf, Bohemia, Nr. 8149. Died, 1912, in Vienna, Austria. Although
Vincent's father and the rest of Vincent's family emigrated to American,
Vincent remained by himself in Vienna. The date of his father's emigration
is not known, but it was probably after Vincent reach adulthood.
He married Therese Weber, daughter of Josef Weber and Maria Kutnigg,
circa 1878 (?)50. Born, 1 Jan 1847, in Aich, Nr. 7. Died, 9 Feb 1917, in
Vienna, Austria. Children:
14 i. Josef Gregor.
15 ii. Vincent Gregor.
9. Theresa7 Gregor (Joseph, 6). Born, 21 Feb 1859, in Michelsdorf,
Bohemia51. Died, 28 Sep 1944, in Ontario, Malheur, OR. Birth(2): 21 Feb
186045.
Theresa's obituary says she immigrated at 13 and made her home with
her sister. That would indicate she immigrated in 1872 and lived with her
sister, Amelia, who had immigrated 4 years earlier in 1868 and who, in
1871, had married a widower, Mathias "Martin" Dewald.
She undoubtedly moved to Nebraska in 1880 with Amelia and her family
which included Amelia's step-son, Paul Dewald, whom she married in 1884
(half-sisters married father-son). Theresa died at the age of 85 years, 7
mos. and 7 days.
She married Paul Dewald, 20 May 1884, in Hebron, Thayer, NE. Born,
14 Jan 1859, in Waterville, Waseca, MN. Died, 1 Feb 1917, in Hebron,
Thayer, NE. Birth(2): 14 Jan 1860, in Waterville, Waseca, MN45. Burial: 3
Feb 1917, in Cath. Cem., Hebron, Thayer, NE.
Paul is the son of Mathias "Martin" Dewald by his first wife,
Barbara Dusbabek. Paul is a half?brother of Adolph Joseph Dewald who
married Florence Rosanna Prentice.
Paul grew to manhood in Waterville, MN. In 1880 he moved with his
folks to Hebron, NE. In 1881 he went to North Platte where he became a
fireman for Union Pacific. In 1883 he returned to Hebron and settled on a
farm NW of town. Paul worked as a salesman for C. M. Liggit and in charge
of the implement department. He served as a councilman for the City of
Hebron from 1913 until his death in 1917. A friend of all, his obituary
said that "the expression which is on every one's lips is that 'if he had
an enemy, I don't know it.'" He died at his home of Pneumonia at 58.
Children:
9.1 i. Mary Theresa8 Dewald. Born, 27 Oct 1887, in Hebron, Thayer Co., NE.
16 ii. O'Delia Coletta Dewald.
17 iii. Coletta Regina Dewald.
9.1 Mary Theresa Dewald. Born, 27 Oct 1887, in Hebron, Thayer Co., NE, and d. 2 Jul 1955.
They appear in the 1920 census in Voltaire, Sherman Co., KS. Not in 1930 census.

She married Louis L. Huber on 8 Oct 1907. He was b. c. 1884 in NE, with both parents b. in Germany. He is tentatively identified as the Loouis Huber who appears in the SSDI as b. 2 Jul 883, obtained his SS# in ID, and d. Nov 1970 in Goodland, Sherman Co., KS.

10. Frank J. Gregor (Joseph, 6). Born, 21 Jul 1860, in Vienna,
Austria52. Died, 11 May 1943, in Elgin, Antelope, NE. Immigration: 1880.
Son of Joseph Gregor and Victoria Klecker. Frank immigrated alone in 1880.
He sent for the rest of his family later. Frank was naturalized as an
American citizen in the District Court in Hebron, NE on 25 Sep 1906. Frank
and his family lived on a farm northwest of Hebron. The family moved to
Elgin, NE about 1913.

Amelia is the daughter of Mathias "Martin" Dewald and his first wife,
Barbara Dusbabek. Amelia is a sister of Paul Dewald and a half?sister to
Adolph Joseph Dewald who married Amelia Gregor, Frank's half?sister.
Children:

11. Maria "Mary" Gregor (Joseph, 6). Born, 31 Jul 1863, in Michelsdorf,
Bohemia (#174)53. Maria may have accompanied her father coming to America.
No immigration documents for her have been located at Hebron, and
officials there relate that when the father/husband is naturalized, the
accompanying members of his family were automatically naturalized.

12. Emil E. Gregor (Joseph, 6). Born, 8 Aug 1867, in Michelsdorf,
Bohemia (#174)56. Died, 1945, in Hebron, Thayer, NE57. Emil may have
accompanied his father to America. No immigration documents for him have
been located at Hebron, and officials there relate that when the
father/husband is naturalized, the accompanying members of the family were
automatically naturalized. Emil appears in the 1900 Census for Thayer Co.,
NE.

If you have any information about the folks mentioned in this article, please send your information to us at the Prentice Newsletter. Be sure to give the full title and date of this article in the Subject line of the email.

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